As Long Beach works to preserve and revitalize the Queen Mary, it’s appropriate that the Smokin’ Grooves festival attracted thousands to the ship’s waterfront grounds Saturday, June 16 — the event itself the one-day revival of a revolutionary hip-hop tour.

With a sold-out crowd, the 38-act lineup was a cross between well-known rap and R&B artists and up-and-coming performers across three stages, topped by Erykah Badu and featuring performances by the Roots featuring Busta Rhymes and San Pedro local Miguel.

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Ravyn Lenae entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

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Ravyn Lenae entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Lion Babe entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Lion Babe entertains the crowd during The Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Quin entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach. on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Quin gets up close and personal with the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Quin entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Guests take a selfie in front of the Long Beach skyline during the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Masego entertains the crowd at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Fans dance to the music at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin’ Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

Guests dance their way to the stage at the Smokin’ Grooves Festival that took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The Smokin Grooves Festival took over the grounds surrounding the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 16, 2018. (Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

The original Smokin’ Grooves tour launched in 1996 as a way to bring hip-hop to audiences in cities lacking a scene as well as an outlet to artists and groups that were having trouble getting bookings because of the violent perceptions of the genre.

Rhymes performed on the inaugural tour in 1996 with Badu and the Roots both on the bill the following year. Smokin’ Grooves ended in 1998, but returned in 2002 for a 15-date tour that featured Lauryn Hill and Cee-Lo Green.

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Like the original Smokin’ Grooves, the lineup featured a mix of established performers and rising artists.

Badu’s hour-long set started around 10 p.m. with an immediate throwback to the early days of Smokin’ Grooves as she opened with her 1997 hit, “Tyrone,” much to the delight of the crowd.

Earlier in the evening, the Roots’ lead vocalist Black Thought took the crowd on a minutes-long solo before going into “You Got Me,” a 1998 collaboration with Badu and fellow Philadelphia rapper Eve, although Badu didn’t appear on stage until her headlining set.

R&B singer Miguel performed the penultimate set that included the early hit “Adorn” as well as his most recent chart-climbers “Come Through and Chill” and “Sky Walker.”

At one point he switched between singing in English and Spanish, and acknowledged his Mexican and local roots.

“I grew up in San Pedro and Inglewood,” he told the crowd. “My father is from Zamora, Michoacan, Mexico. My mother is a beautiful black woman from Inglewood and that’s where they met.”

Other artists who performed on Saturday included NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge), Thundercat, Les Nubians, Majid Jordan and Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def.

The mostly stylish crowd was young and seemed to be responsive to not only the big names on the bill, but also the acts looking to cross over into the mainstream.

Several concert-goers gave Canadian R&B duo Dvsn good reviews as they were leaving the show.

“There was a lot of dope acts, said Yorba Linda resident Gil Salvador. “Dvsn killed it. You talk about a singer. Oh man!”

Jennifer Servellon, 24, came with a friend from the Inland Empire and enjoyed Miguel, but were surprised by H.E.R., an R&B singer who performed earlier that afternoon.

Goldenvoice partnered with Urban Commons, the Queen Mary’s leaseholder, last year to bring more large-scale music events to the ship. In April, fans flocked to the Smokers Club Festival to celebrate hip-hop and marijuana culture.

The next large-scale music festival at the site is Summertime in the LBC on July 7, with Long Beach native Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, The Isley Brothers and more.

Louis Casiano studied journalism at the University of Houston, where he was a reporter for the Daily Cougar and interned at the Houston Chronicle covering crime and breaking news. After graduating, he interned at NBCNews.com covering news on the national desk. Most recently he worked at The Orange County Register's breaking news and public safety beats. In 2016, he covered the busy coastal cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.